Dual DIGIC III Image Processors working in parallel to provide up to 50% less shadow noise and superb image quality; new Highlight Tone Priority option adds control of bright highlights

Large 3.0-inch LCD monitor, featuring Live View

Fully compatible with over 50 EF lenses and a wide range of EOS System accessories

(From company literature) Canon's flagship EOS-1D Mark III is the most advanced EOS Digital SLR ever produced. It has a new 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor (APS-H size) with Canon's EOS Integrated Cleaning System and a 3.0-inch LCD monitor with Canon's Live View technology. The 1D Mark III has a redesigned 100% viewfinder, a new 45-point AF system, and can shoot up to 10 fps continuously with a maximum burst of 110 shots. Dual DIGIC III Image Processors work in tandem to speed up every process while refining image quality; a new, lighter body has improved weather sealing and shutter durability. Every facet of the EOS experience has been enhanced with the 1D Mark III. It's the new standard.

More Pixels, Cleaner
The EOS-1D Mark III features an all-new Canon 10.1 megapixel APS-H size CMOS sensor with an expanded sensitivity range of ISO 50–6400. 14-bit A/D conversion means fine gradation and a significant drop in digital and shadow noise. With its generous 28.1 x 18.7mm image size, the sensor captures every nuance of your scene from highlight to shadow. Extensive noise reduction ensures an extremely high signal to noise ratio. Framing is natural because the sensor's 3:2 aspect ratio is the same as in 35mm cameras, and the sensor's large size realizes an effective angle of view that's just 1.3 times the focal length indicated on Canon EF lenses.

Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit
To combat against stray dust that enters the camera and adheres to the image sensor during a lens change, the 1D Mark III features Canon-designed Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit. The IR-cut filter cleans itself automatically with ultrasonic vibrations, removing dust from the sensor assembly.

Dust Delete Data Detection
Dust that has been missed by the Integrated Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit can also be erased with software included in Digital Photo Professional (DPP) Version 3.0. The 1D Mark III’s imaging sensor is able to single out the dust particles on its surface, then plots out their location coordinates within the image. This data is transmitted along with the image, whether JPEG or RAW, and can be either manually or automatically erased in Canon’s DPP version 3.0. This added software option ensures the cleanest possible image, perfect for printing or archiving.

The Speed to Capture Anything
With a maximum continuous shooting speed of approximately 10 frames-per-second, for up to 110 shots, the EOS-1D Mark III is the world's fastest digital SLR. Bursts are first recorded to the camera’s internal memory to ensure maximum speed and then transferred to memory cards for storage. The number of shots remaining during a burst is displayed on the right side of the viewfinder.

Perfect Focus in An Instant
The EOS-1D Mark III raises the bar for AF performance. It uses an extraordinary 45-point high-density area AF system that provides not only the industry's largest continuous AF coverage area, but also the greatest range of control over focusing point selection. The focusing point can be selected automatically by the camera (based on high-speed microcomputer analysis of image content), or users can manually select any of 19 high precision, cross-type AF points which can be complemented by 26 additional Assist Points for pin sharp accuracy, instantaneously.

A processing unit devoted solely to focusing the 1D Mark III uses advanced algorithms that ensure the fastest, most accurate AF performance under the widest variety of conditions, with processing up to 3 times faster and a full stop darker than on the EOS-1D Mark II N. The One-Shot AF mode is ideal for more static subjects. The camera rapidly selects the optimum focusing point and the subject is instantly brought into focus even if it is off-center. The AI Servo AF mode is excellent for moving subjects. Aided by a highly "intelligent" predictive focusing algorithm, it precisely tracks subject movement, even at speeds of up to 10 fps. Even with erratic or rapid subject movement, the photographer can shoot continuously, concentrating solely on image composition.

New Custom Functions aid the photographer in choosing from default focusing points, as well as changing the size of a manually-selected AF point, making this not only the fastest, but also the most customizable AF system on the planet.

Stronger, Lighter and More Powerful
In response to requests from professional users, the new EOS-1D Mark III is more rugged, yet lighter than its predecessor. Able to withstand shooting in the roughest conditions, the 1D Mark III is clad in a magnesium alloy shell, chassis and top panel, providing impressive strength without excessive weight. All of the 1D Mark III controls and external cover seams are sealed from water and dust. Even the perimeter of the 1D Mark III’s hot-shoe is ribbed for water resistance, enabling flash photography with Canon’s new Speedlite 580EX II.

Other new features include an improved shutter, durability rated to 300,000 exposures, powerful new metering, a new control interface that mirrors the design of other popular EOS Digital SLR cameras and a 100% coverage viewfinder with a larger pentaprism for higher magnification, plus a number of optional focusing screens.

Canon is also introducing a new, lightweight lithium-ion battery system that provides feedback on the LCD monitor, including number of shots taken on a charge, percentage of battery power remaining and whether the battery should be reconditioned with the charger. With the new battery installed, the EOS-1D Mark III body is about 1/2 pound (approx. 225g) lighter than the EOS-1D Mark II N body.

Dual DIGIC III Image Processor
Developed to maximize performance between the capture and recording stages of digital photography, the EOS-1D Mark III’s Dual DIGIC III chips give the camera two of Canon’s newest processing units, working in parallel, to dramatically enhance image quality and deliver the speed and power needed to combine 10 million pixels and 10 frames per second. The latest-generation DIGIC III Image Processor works in concert with Canon’s new CMOS sensors to achieve even higher levels of performance. The entire electronic system is totally re-designed, giving the camera its incredible combination of speed and image quality. Digital noise is significantly reduced in shadow areas, and color reproduction is superior.

Highlight Tone Priority
By expanding the range from the correct level (18% gray) to the maximum allowable highlight level, the gradation from the grays to the highlights becomes smoother and loss in highlight detail is minimized. This vital Custom Function lets photographers get even better detail in bright highlights, even in contrasty lighting conditions. It’s beneficial for nearly any form of professional work, where a user may encounter bright highlight areas where he or she wants to preserve details. Finally, there’s no impact on the camera’s shooting speed or burst rate when Highlight Tone Priority is engaged.

Large 3.0-inch LCD monitor, featuring Live View
The largest LCD monitor ever in an SLR with interchangeable lenses (as of February, 2007), the 3.0-inch LCD monitor on the EOS-1D Mark III contains another: a Live View option, where the photographer can compose and shoot directly from the LCD monitor. Achieved via a menu setting (by raising the SLR camera's mirror) and perfect for a number of applications, Live View enables the photographer to zoom in and navigate the composition at 5x or 10x normal size, while enabling critical manual focus and allowing more attention to detail. Users can even choose a grid overlay, perfect for architectural photography.

EF Lenses
EOS-1D Mark III is compatible with all Canon lenses in the EF lineup, ranging from ultra-wide angle to super telephoto lenses. Canon lenses employ advanced optical expertise and micron-precision engineering to deliver unprecedented performance in all facets of the photographic process. Special optical technologies, such as aspherical optics and fluorite elements are featured in the universally acclaimed L Series lenses, and Canon's Image Stabilizer technology in select lenses minimizes the effect of camera shake. Through Canon lenses, photographers can truly maximize the quality and liberating performance of the 1D Mark III.

Flash Photography
The EOS -1D Mark III features the acclaimed E-TTL II flash metering system. With any of the flashes in the EX Speedlite line, E-TTL II provides reliable flash output whether shooting fill-in flash pictures in sunlight, or using flash in total darkness. The camera’s new 63-zone Evaluative Metering Sensor is also used for flash metering – giving even finer metering command of the image area. If you prefer a broader area for flash metering, Custom Function II-4-1 allows shifting flash metering so that all 63 zones of the sensor are used equally to calculate flash exposures.

Canon's new Speedlite 580EX II is perfectly suited to the 1D Mark III. It has improved reliability of communications through the direct contacts, has a metal flash “foot,” and is dust-/water-resistant as with the 1D Mark III. Other new features include a PC socket on the flash unit, and an external metering sensor for non-TTL auto flash if desired. With the EOS-1D Mark III, you can set most flash settings using the camera’s menu. It has the same power as the previous Speedlite 580EX (maximum guide number of 190 ft./58m at ISO 100) and, when mounted on the camera, automatically compensates for the camera’s sensor size, enabling high output flash, with more flashes per charge. It includes an AF-assist Beam, which works in conjunction with the 1D Mark III’s focusing system, and automatically sends color temperature information to the camera when the flash fires, for more accurate white balance rendition with flash photography.

Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2A
Canon's second-generation Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2A incorporates a number of significant new features into a robust, camera-powered system to make wireless transfer faster, simpler and less cumbersome than ever. WFT-E2A is smaller, attaches to the side of the EOS-1D Mark III, transfers images wirelessly through either 802.11 B or G, has USB and Ethernet connections for situations where wireless access is limited, as well as a more powerful antenna, capable of transmission up to 150 feet from the computer, or an accessory router/access point receiver. It can connect to a third-party GPS device via USB; generating GPS information in the image’s EXIF data. Or, you can plug a compatible USB v.2.0 hard drive into the transmitter’s USB port, and actually shoot directly to a large portable hard drive. Dust- and water-resistance are also matched with the EOS-1D Mark III body. (Note: the previous WFT-E1A Wireless Transmitter unit is not compatible with the EOS-1D Mark III camera.)